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October 27 – November 9, 2016 TRAVEL
YOGA VIBE TENERIFE
HEALTH
SANTA CRUZ PORT
Lisbon & Porto package
Good vibrations
Drug smuggler arrested
Awaiting winter woes
Pages 14 & 15
Page 20
Page 21
Pages 36 & 37
NEIGHBOURHOOD PROTEST
Fighting for their homes
The fight continues for answers from the local council as the date approaches for the forced eviction of around 150 people in the borough of Candelaria. The 55 houses of the families affected are all in the Bajo La Cuesta coastal town, located under a steep cliff which, experts say, is in grave danger of collapsing. Many of the homes are also partly built into the rock. Residents have been given until October 27 to vacate their houses so that work can begin on shoring up the hillside. On this date both the water and electricity supplies to the residences will be disconnected.
EXCESSIVE POLLUTION
Congestion conundrum
Continued on page two
Santa Cruz has a high volume of traffic during key times of the day
Residents are protesting against the forced evictions as there are no concrete conditions for their return
Santa Cruz and Las Palmas recently rated highly in traffic volume and air pollution studies, prompting calls in Tenerife for a debate on limiting vehicle access to the city centre. The two Canarian capitals are certainly densely populated by provin-
cial standards, and even though Gran Canaria is the third largest island of the archipelago, its capital has the most residents compared to other Canarian cities and is ranked the ninth highest nationally. As of 2015, it is estimated that 379,766 people and 244,000
cars are registered in Las Palmas, and when taking into account the capital’s immediate catchment area, the number of inhabitants grows to over 600,000. In Santa Cruz there are 203,811 residents with 157,723 registered cars. This accounts for over 10 per cent of
all vehicles on the seven islands, and about 23 per cent of Tenerife’s overall tally. Out of the 2,421 buses operating in Tenerife, over half arrive to the capital, and in addition to the high number of Santa Cruz inhabitants, there is also a considerable commuter base travelling to the city every day for work. At key times of the day there are jams, tailbacks and slow-flowing traffic which make conditions very difficult for residents and visitors alike. There are two principal connections to Santa Cruz: the north and south motorways (TF5 and TF1) and both are overwhelmed at rush hour periods, with repeated calls from islanders to expand the number of lanes to ease congestion. Although the volume of traffic in Las Palmas is similar to that of Santa Cruz, only Tenerife authorities have opened the debate on limiting vehicle access to the city centre. Continued on page two